In his essay, “On The Bench”, Robert Parker shows the trials and tribulations of trying to be both mentally and physically strong. He writes about how horrible it is being thin and weak, and having to hold on to his wife’s arm when it is windy out. I hope that this essay was intended to be humorous, because it did in fact make me laugh. The first thing that made me chuckle in this …showed first 75 words of 265 total…

…showed last 75 words of 265 total…conclusion that Parker was indeed setting a good role model for his children. I came to this realization when I read the reason he began lifting; “I want to be strong the way I want to be smart” (226). This made me realize that Parker was not obsessed with appearance and build like I thought he was in the beginning of the essay. I also enjoyed reading, “Like study, exercise can only improve on the basics.